Iowa's biggest roster weakness in 2024 comes as no surprise

The Iowa Hawkeyes offense has a lot to prove, both to themselves and the nation.

Coming into the season, it's a bit unfair that the Hawkeyes are given so much flack for their lack of offensive production in 2023. Iowa wasn't given much grace that it went nearly the entire season without Cade McNamara at quarterback, instead relying on a guy playing at the FCS level in 2024.

Nonetheless, the offense in Iowa City has been beyond lackluster since 2019 (with a bold asterisk in 2020), placing no better than 88th in the country for scoring.

The 2024 season is as good a time as any for the Hawkeyes to flip the narrative, and McNamara will play a huge part in that (as will offensive coordinator Tim Lester), but he can't do it alone. Unfortunately, it appears to be an uphill battle altogether.

ESPN named each top 25 team's biggest weakness, and to little surprise, the biggest weakness for Iowa is the wide receiver group. Kaleb Brown and Seth Anderson return as the primary receivers after combining for 33 receptions for 365 yards and two touchdowns last season.

While McNamara will certainly lean heavily on star tight end Luke Lachey and running mate Addison Ostrenga, Anderson and Brown both need to step up in a big way in 2024 for the Hawkeyes to reach their lofty goals.

Unfortunately, the group is already off to a rough start because of Brown's OWI arrest in June.

Looking beyond Brown and Anderson shines a concerning light on depth at the position. The only upperclassmen receivers on the roster outside of the starting duo and Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill have a combined two receptions for 14 yards. No one else has a catch.

Gill could be a bright spot, but he also has to step up with just 16 receptions for 195 yards and two scores with the Wildcats in his career.

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